Integrated vacuum for motor vehicle

ABSTRACT

A vehicle having an on-board vacuum includes an interior trim quarter side panel assembly disposed adjacent a third row of seats, and an on-board central vacuum system integrated into the interior trim quarter panel assembly. The interior trim quarter side panel assembly includes an outermost surface, an armrest portion positioned between an inboard sidewall and an outboard sidewall of the interior trim quarter panel assembly, and generally sloping toward an interior floor of the vehicle, and a handle pocket defining an opening in the armrest portion and a cavity below the outermost surface. The on-board central vacuum system includes a vacuum hose coupled to a vacuum motor assembly, and a vacuum nozzle handle coupled to the vacuum hose and nestingly received within the handle pocket such that in a stowed position within the handle pocket cavity, the vacuum nozzle handle is located at or below the outermost surface.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. application Ser. No.14/831,186, filed Aug. 20, 2015, the contents of which are incorporatedherein in their entirety by reference thereto.

FIELD

The present application relates generally to vacuum cleaner systemsincorporated on motor vehicles and, more particularly, to a centralvacuum cleaner system having a vacuum nozzle handle that integrates intothe interior trim of the vehicle in a recessed and stowed position.

BACKGROUND

Vacuum cleaner systems have been provided on automotive motor vehiclesto offer a convenient way to clean the interior of the vehicle. Suchsystems have included the vacuum motor assembly on-board the vehicle.Vacuum systems are particularly popular in the mini-van or sport utilityvehicle market segment where three rows of seats are offered andchildren are the typical rear occupants. With an on-board vacuum system,a user need not be required to transport or move a stand-alone vacuum toa location near or into the vehicle to vacuum the vehicle interior.

While the on-board systems available today provide convenience, they canstill be difficult to operate and are generally unsightly in thevehicle. For example, manipulation of the vacuum nozzle and intake hosecan be difficult within the vehicle given the tight surroundings.Moreover, some vacuum configurations incorporate the vacuum nozzle in arear cargo area making it difficult to vacuum interior space in front ofa third row of seats. Thus, while vacuum cleaner systems work for theirintended purpose, there remains a need for improvement in the relevantart.

SUMMARY

In one exemplary aspect of the invention, a vehicle having an on-boardvacuum is provided. The vehicle includes a first, second, and third rowof seats, an interior trim quarter side panel assembly disposed adjacentthe third row of seats, and an on-board central vacuum system integratedinto the interior trim quarter panel assembly. The interior trim quarterside panel assembly includes an outermost surface, an armrest portionpositioned between an inboard sidewall and an outboard sidewall of theinterior trim quarter panel assembly, and generally sloping toward aninterior floor of the vehicle, and a handle pocket defining an openingin the armrest portion and a cavity below the outermost surface. Theon-board central vacuum system includes a vacuum hose coupled to avacuum motor assembly, and a vacuum nozzle handle coupled to the vacuumhose and nestingly received within the handle pocket such that in astowed position within the handle pocket cavity, the vacuum nozzlehandle is located at or below the outermost surface of the interior trimquarter panel assembly. The vacuum hose slidably advances through thehandle pocket from behind the interior trim quarter panel assembly whenthe vacuum nozzle handle moves from the stowed position within thehandle pocket to a use position outside of the handle pocket.

In addition to the foregoing, the described vehicle may include one ormore of the following features: wherein the opening of the handle pocketextends longitudinally between a first width portion and a second widthportion, the first width portion being wider than the second widthportion and sized and shaped to accommodate a grasping hand around thenozzle handle; wherein the second width portion is sized and shapedrelative to the nozzle handle such that it does not accommodate thegrasping hand around the nozzle handle; wherein the handle pocket cavityincludes a low power lamp and a power button, and wherein in the stowedposition, the vacuum nozzle handle covers and conceals the low powerlamp and the power button; and wherein the low power lamp iselectrically connected to a vehicle electronic control unit and isconfigured to illuminate if the vehicle electronic control unitdetermines that insufficient power is available to run the vacuum motorassembly.

In addition to the foregoing, the described vehicle may include one ormore of the following features: wherein a plurality of standoffs arepositioned in the handle pocket and extend into the cavity, thestandoffs configured to space the stowed vacuum nozzle handle from aninner wall at least partially defining the cavity; wherein a tang ispositioned in the handle pocket and extends into the cavity, the tangconfigured to engage and secure to a detent formed in the vacuum nozzlehandle to thereby secure the vacuum nozzle handle in the stowedposition; and wherein the opening of the handle pocket includes anabsence of a door to cover the opening, and the vacuum nozzle handle issubstantially flush with the outermost surface of the interior trimquarter panel assembly when in the stowed position.

In addition to the foregoing, the described vehicle may include one ormore of the following features: a storage cavity adjacent to the handlepocket, the storage cavity housing vacuum accessories therein; whereinthe vacuum motor assembly includes a housing, a motor, and a debris baglocated beneath the outermost surface of the interior trim quarter panelassembly; wherein the handle pocket defines a hose passage, wherein thevacuum hose slidably advances through the hose passage when the vacuumnozzle handle moves from the stowed position to the use position; astorage cavity defined in the armrest portion below the outermostsurface and having a bin portion to store vacuum accessories such thatin a stowed position within the storage cavity, the vacuum accessoriesdo not protrude into an interior space of the vehicle; a door coveringthe storage cavity and a track associated with the storage cavity,wherein the door slides along the track between a closed position and anopen position; and wherein the door comprises a corrugated door.

Further areas of applicability of the teachings of the presentdisclosure will become apparent from the detailed description, claimsand the drawings provided hereinafter, wherein like reference numeralsrefer to like features throughout the several views of the drawings. Itshould be understood that the detailed description, including disclosedembodiments and drawings referenced therein, are merely exemplary innature intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intendedto limit the scope of the present disclosure, its application or uses.Thus, variations that do not depart from the gist of the presentdisclosure are intended to be within the scope of the presentdisclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top view of an exemplary vehicle incorporating an on-boardcentral vacuum system according to one example of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an interior quarter side panel assemblyof the vehicle that incorporates a vacuum nozzle handle and a series ofaccessories according to the principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the interior quarter side panel of FIG.2 and shown with the vacuum nozzle handle removed from a handle pocketand a sliding door of a storage cavity moved toward an open positionaccording to the principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a top view of a cavity of the handle pocket according to theprinciples of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the interior quarter side panelassembly taken along lines 5-5 of FIG. 2 according to the principles ofthe present disclosure; and

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of exemplary vacuum accessoriesof the on-board central vacuum system according to the principles of thepresent disclosure.

DESCRIPTION

With initial reference to FIG. 1, an on-board central vacuum systemconstructed in accordance to one example of the present disclosure isshown and generally identified at reference numeral 10. The on-boardcentral vacuum system 10 is illustrated configured for use in a vehicle12 having an interior space 16 that includes a first row of seats 20, asecond row of seats 22 and a third row of seats 24. The vehicle 12further includes a rear cargo area 28 positioned generally between thethird row of seats 24 and a rear door 30. In the example shown, thefirst row of seats 20 comprises a front driver seat 32 and a frontpassenger seat 34. The second row of seats 22 comprises a first captainchair 36 and a second captain chair 38. The third row of seats 24comprises a rear bench 40. The rear bench 40 includes a set portion 42and a backrest portion 44. Other configurations are contemplated. Forexample, the second row of seats 22 can include a bench similar to therear bench 24. The particular vehicle layout shown is for a mini-van,sport utility or crossover vehicle. It will be appreciated however thatthe on-board central vacuum system 10 may be used in other vehicleshaving other configurations such as those having only two rows of seats.

Additional features of the vehicle 12 will now be described. The vehicle12 includes a front driver side door 50, a front passenger side door 52,a second row driver side door 54 and a second row passenger side door56. The vehicle 12 further includes interior trim collectivelyidentified at reference 60. The interior trim 60 includes first row trim62, second row trim 64 and third row trim 66. As used herein the term“trim” is used to denote any hard or soft surfaces within the interiorof the vehicle 12. While not limited, the interior trim 60 used as partof the on-board central vacuum system 10 includes hard plastic surfacesthat generally flow within the vehicle interior adjacent to the first,second and third rows of seats 20, 22 and 24.

The first row trim 62 includes first row driver side trim 70, first rowpassenger side trim 72 and a center console 74 generally positionedbetween the driver seat 32 and the passenger seat 34. The second rowtrim 64 includes second row driver side trim 82 and second row passengerside trim 84. The third row trim 66 includes third row driver side trim86 and third row passenger side trim 88. The vehicle 12 further includesan interior floor 90 that extends throughout the vehicle 12 andgenerally defines a lower boundary of the interior space 16.

With continued reference to FIG. 1 and additional reference to FIGS.2-5, the on-board central vacuum system 10 will be further described.The on-board central vacuum system 10 includes a vacuum motor assembly100, a vacuum hose 110, a vacuum nozzle handle 112, an interior quarterside panel assembly 120 and a series of accessories 122. The vacuum hose110 is fluidly connected to the vacuum nozzle handle 112. In thisregard, and as will become appreciated herein, a user may grasp thevacuum nozzle handle 112 by reaching into the handle pocket 130 andaround the vacuum nozzle handle 112. The vacuum nozzle handle 112 maythen be removed from the handle pocket during use. A portion of thevacuum hose 110 is pulled through the opening 132 and out of the handlepocket 130 to reach the area to be vacuumed.

The interior quarter side panel assembly 120 is integrated into theinterior trim 60 and more particularly into the third row trim 66. Theinterior quarter side panel assembly 120 includes a storage cavity 124and a handle pocket 130. The handle pocket 130 defines an opening 132.The handle pocket 130 has a pocket wall 134 that generally defines acavity 136 (FIG. 3) that nestingly accepts the vacuum nozzle handle 112as will be described more fully herein. The opening 132 extendslongitudinally between a first width portion 140 and a second widthportion 142. The first width portion 140 is wider than the second widthportion 142. The first width portion 140 is wide enough to accommodate agrasping hand around the nozzle handle 112.

The handle pocket 130 includes a tang 150 that extends into the cavity134. The tang 150 is configured to engage and secure to a detent 154formed on the nozzle handle 112 (FIG. 5). A low power lamp 156 and apower button 158 are positioned in the cavity 136 of the handle pocket130. The low power lamp 156 and the power button 158 can be electricallyconnected to a vehicle electronic control unit 160 (FIG. 5). The lowpower lamp 156 is configured to illuminate if the vehicle electroniccontrol unit 160 determines that insufficient power is available to runthe vacuum assembly 10. The power button 158 is depressed to turn thevacuum assembly 10 on and off. A series of stand-offs 170 are positionedin the handle pocket 130 and extend generally into the cavity 134. Thestand-offs 170 are formed of compliant material or plastic and offsetthe nozzle handle 112 from the pocket wall 132 of the handle pocket 130.The stand-offs 170 further position the nozzle handle 112 in a readyposition for a user to easily grasp when in a stowed position (FIG. 2)

The storage cavity 124 includes a sliding door 180 that slidablynegotiates along a track 182 between a closed position (FIG. 2) to anopen position (FIG. 3). Movement of the track 182 to the open positionreveals a bin portion 186 that stores the accessories 122. Theaccessories 122 include a narrow attachment 192 and a triangularupholstery attachment 194. Additional or other accessories may beincluded. The sliding door 180 is corrugated and includes a recessedhandle 198 that can be engaged by a user when moving the sliding door180 between the closed and open positions.

As will become appreciated herein, the on-board central vacuum system 10provides a vacuum system integrated into the vehicle 12 that allows anoperator ease of use and clean integration into the interior space 16.In this regard, as best shown in FIG. 2, the vacuum nozzle handle 112 isrecessed into the cavity 136 of the interior quarter side panel assembly120. As such, the vacuum nozzle handle 112 does not protrude into theinterior space 16, yet allows easy access to grasp the vacuum nozzlehandle 112 at the first width portion 140. Once a user grabs the vacuumnozzle handle 112, the hose 110 may be pulled out through the handlepocket 130. The hose 110 slides along a hose passage 210 provided underthe interior quarter side panel assembly 120. The user may turn on thevacuum system 10 by pushing the power button 158. When the user hascompleted vacuuming, the hose 110 and vacuum nozzle handle 112 arereturned to the position shown in FIG. 2.

The interior quarter side panel assembly 120 includes an outermostsurface 218 having an armrest portion 220 positioned generally betweenan inboard sidewall 222 and an outboard sidewall 224. The armrestportion 220 generally slopes toward the interior floor 90. The storagecavity 124 and the handle pocket 130 are positioned generally forward onthe armrest portion 220 in front of and on a downslope of the portion ofinterior trim 60 where an occupant would rest an elbow.

Because the storage cavity 124 and a handle pocket 130 are integratedinto the interior quarter side panel assembly 120 generally into thearmrest portion 220, a vehicle occupant in the third row 40 is notencroached upon by vacuum components and accessories. Rather, the vacuumnozzle handle 112 and door 180 are flush with the interior quarter sidepanel assembly 120. Further, the storage cavity 124 stores theaccessories 122 below the outermost surface 218 of the interior trim 60.

Moreover, because the vacuum nozzle handle 112 and accessories 122 arelocated next to the rear bench 40 (instead of behind the rear bench 40),a vehicle occupant or user can easily grab the vacuum nozzle handle 112and vacuum the area at the second and third row of seats 22, 24 withoutnecessarily needing to fold down the third row of seats 24.Specifically, the vacuum nozzle handle 112 and accessories 122 arepositioned in front of (toward the first row of seats 20) the backrestportion 44 for easy access. In one exemplary implementation, the vacuumnozzle handle is positioned substantially between the second row ofseats 22 and the third row of seats 24 such that a vehicle occupant caneasily grab the handle 112 when seated in either of the second or thirdrow of seats 22, 24.

With reference now to FIGS. 1 and 6, additional features of the vacuummotor assembly 100 will be described. The vacuum motor assembly 100generally includes a housing 240, a motor 242 and a debris bag 250.While vacuuming, debris can collect within the debris bag 250 in thehousing 240 for later removal by a user.

It should be understood that the mixing and matching of features,elements, methodologies and/or functions between various examples may beexpressly contemplated herein so that one skilled in the art wouldappreciate from the present teachings that features, elements and/orfunctions of one example may be incorporated into another example asappropriate, unless described otherwise above.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vehicle having an on-board vacuum, the vehiclecomprising: a first, second and third row of seats; an interior trimquarter side panel assembly disposed adjacent the third row of seats,the interior trim quarter panel assembly including: an outermostsurface; an armrest portion positioned between an inboard sidewall andan outboard sidewall of the interior trim quarter panel assembly, andgenerally sloping toward an interior floor of the vehicle; and a handlepocket defining an opening in the armrest portion and a cavity below theoutermost surface; and an on-board central vacuum system integrated intothe interior trim quarter panel assembly and including: a vacuum hosecoupled to a vacuum motor assembly; and a vacuum nozzle handle coupledto the vacuum hose and nestingly received within the handle pocket suchthat in a stowed position within the handle pocket cavity, the vacuumnozzle handle is located at or below the outermost surface of theinterior trim quarter panel assembly, wherein the vacuum hose slidablyadvances through the handle pocket from behind the interior trim quarterpanel assembly when the vacuum nozzle handle moves from the stowedposition within the handle pocket to a use position outside of thehandle pocket.
 2. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the opening of thehandle pocket extends longitudinally between a first width portion and asecond width portion, the first width portion being wider than thesecond width portion and sized and shaped to accommodate a grasping handaround the nozzle handle.
 3. The vehicle of claim 2, wherein the secondwidth portion is sized and shaped relative to the nozzle handle suchthat it does not accommodate the grasping hand around the nozzle handle.4. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the handle pocket cavity includes alow power lamp and a power button, and wherein in the stowed position,the vacuum nozzle handle covers and conceals the low power lamp and thepower button.
 5. The vehicle of claim 4, wherein the low power lamp iselectrically connected to a vehicle electronic control unit and isconfigured to illuminate if the vehicle electronic control unitdetermines that insufficient power is available to run the vacuum motorassembly.
 6. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein a plurality of standoffsare positioned in the handle pocket and extend into the cavity, thestandoffs configured to space the stowed vacuum nozzle handle from aninner wall at least partially defining the cavity.
 7. The vehicle ofclaim 1, wherein a tang is positioned in the handle pocket and extendsinto the cavity, the tang configured to engage and secure to a detentformed in the vacuum nozzle handle to thereby secure the vacuum nozzlehandle in the stowed position.
 8. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein theopening of the handle pocket includes an absence of a door to cover theopening, and the vacuum nozzle handle is substantially flush with theoutermost surface of the interior trim quarter panel assembly when inthe stowed position.
 9. The vehicle of claim 1, further comprising astorage cavity adjacent to the handle pocket, the storage cavity housingvacuum accessories therein.
 10. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein thevacuum motor assembly includes a housing, a motor, and a debris baglocated beneath the outermost surface of the interior trim quarter panelassembly.
 11. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the handle pocket definesa hose passage, wherein the vacuum hose slidably advances through thehose passage when the vacuum nozzle handle moves from the stowedposition to the use position.
 12. The vehicle of claim 1, furthercomprising a storage cavity defined in the armrest portion below theoutermost surface and having a bin portion to store vacuum accessoriessuch that in a stowed position within the storage cavity, the vacuumaccessories do not protrude into an interior space of the vehicle. 13.The vehicle of claim 12, further comprising a door covering the storagecavity and a track associated with the storage cavity, wherein the doorslides along the track between a closed position and an open position.14. The vehicle of claim 13, wherein the door comprises a corrugateddoor.